Fire escape



1929- A. E. JOHNSEN 1,704,361

' FIRE ESCAPE Fild Sept. 29, 1927 2 heats-Sheet 1 'March 5, 1929. A. E.JOHNSEN FIRE ESCAPE Filed Sept. 29, 192'! ets-5heet 2 Jar/612702 aJ075/2ZZE70fi/a5en Patented Mar. 5, 1929.

PATENT OFFICE.

ANTON E. JOHNSEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRE ESCAPE.

Application filed September 29, 1927.

This invention relates to improvements in fire escapes by means of whichpersons may descend with safety from an elevated position, down a rope,one end of which is anchored, the rope passing through a friction blockand the speed of descent being controlled by the descending person or byanother person, by grasping the rope and allowing it to slip through thefriction block at will, under the stress of the weight of the descendingperson.

A further ob 'ect is to provide improved means whereby the apparatus maybe installed, embodying a receptacle or container within which theapparatus may be entirely concealed when not in use, and from whichcontainer the apparatus may be readily removed and thrown out of thewindow to be in position and ready for use without consuming any timefor arranging or hooking up the apparatus when it is necessary ordesirable to use the same, at the same time the container will not causean unsightly appearance in the room.

To the attainmentof these ends and the accomplishment of other new anduseful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features ofnovelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangementof the several parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed andshown in the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention, and inwhich Figure 1 is a view partly in vertical section taken on line 1-1,Figure 2, partly in elevation and partly broken away of an apparatus ofthis character constructed in accordance with the principles of thisinvention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly broken away and with parts omittedof Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view partly in elevation, artly broken away and partly insection, s owing the method of installing the apparatus in a newlyconstructed building.

Figure l is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the method of installingthe apparatus in an old building.

Figure 5 is a view partly in elevation, partly in section and partlybroken away, showing the method of using the apparatus.

The apparatus consists essentially of a friction block which is of anydesired size and configuration, but is preferably formed of an elongatedbody comparatively small in Serial No. 222,701.

cross section. One end of the body is preferably reduced as at 11 andthrough which reduced portion an eye 12 passes to receive a hook orsupporting device 13 for suspending. or supporting the friction blockwhen the apparatus is in use.

The block 10 is provided with an a erture let therethrough preferablyadjacent t e lower end thereof, and is also provided with similarapertures 15-16, which latter aper t tres are preferably disposed incomparatively close proximity to each other and are substantiallyparallel with each otherl.

A. rope 17, preferably provided with a flexible metallic core 18, issecured by one end to the friction block lOpreferably by passing the end19 of the rope through the aperture 14 and then forming a knot 20 in theend of the rope so as to prevent the rope from beng pulled out of theaperture 14. A loop 21 is then formed in the rope and the rope is thenpassed through the opening 15 in the friction block from one side of theblock, thence along the opposite face of the block as at 22 and thenthrough the opening 16 as at 23 to the side of the block opposite to theside where the portion 22 of the rope is located.

The loop portion 21 of therope passes loosely through an opening 24 in asuspension member 25, which latter is provided wit an eye 26. i

A suspension strap 27 is connected by one end with the eye 26,preferably by means of a loop or element 28 which passesthrough the eye26 and is secured as at 29 to one end of the strap 27. i

Secured to the other end of the strap 27 is a snap hook 30 which is alsoadapted to detachably engage the eye 26 of the member 25. i The strapmay be of any desired widthand length suitable forsupporting a person.

hen the friction block 10 is secured to the supporting member 13, and aperson as sumes a position within the strap 27 as shown in Figure 5, andthe free end of the rope 17 is thrown out of the window, the person willdescend, causing the member 25 to slip upon the rope 17 within the loopportion 21 and the rope itself to slip through the eyes or openings 15and 16, the latter causing friction upon the rope to retard the descentof the person by his own weight. The speed of descent is controlled bygrasping the free portion of the rope 17, thereby controlling thefriction exerted upon the rope as it passes through the openings 15-16.

This control of the descent may be accomplished by the person descendingor by another person at a lower elevation through the medium. of themanipulation of the free end of the rope 17.

The apparatus thus constructed is adapted to be stored within areceptacle or container 31 and this container 81, in. a new building, asshown in Figure 3, will be concealed within the wall 32 of the buildingpreferably adjacent the window frame 33, the latter being cut away atPA- to permit the insertion of the receptacle or container 31.

The support or anchoring device 13 may be connected with one of thewalls of the container and when the apparatus is folded and placedwithin the container 31 a closure is adapted to he brought into positionto close the container and. tl'ierehy conceal the entire apparatus fromView from within the room. In use, however, the closure may be readilyopened and swung to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, topermit the member 25and the rope together with the strap 27 to be thrownout of the window and in position for use.

In Figure t the receptacle or container 31 is adapted to be secured tothe outer surface of the window frame 33 and will not present anunsightly appearance from the inside of the room as all of the portionsof the fire e cape will. be placed within and concealed by thecontainer.

By the use of a rope 17 having a. flexible metallic core 18, the ropewill have a longer life and will be prevented from deterioration shouldthe same be stored in the container or receptacle for any undue lengthof time, and at the same time the covering for the core will facilitatein the frictional co-operation of the rope and the portions of thefriction block 10.

VVit-h this improved apparatus it will he manifest that there will beprovided a si1nple, durable, cheap and compact tire escape which may bereadily placed in condition for service and no time will he lost inanchoring the rope when it is desired to use the same. Furthermore thedescent of the person using the apparatus may be controlled by eitherthe person himself or someone else, and the apparatus requires nothought in operation as the weight of the person will cause the same toautomatically operate and at the same time the friction will becontrolled by the manipulation of the rope itself and there is nomechanism or gripping devices necessary with this construction, the useof which gripping devices or attachments would tend to confuse the user.

While the preferred form of the invention has been herein shown anddescribed, it is to he understood that various changes may he made inthe details ot construction and in the cmi'lbination and arrangement ofthe sevoral parts, within the scope of the claims, without departingfrom the spirit of this in Vention.

hat is claimed as new is l. A lire escape embodying a. friction block,means for swingingly anchoring said block by one end, a rope secured byone end to the other end of the block, a plurality of apertures in thebloclr, said rope being threaded through said apertures to form a loopbelow the block, the other end of the rope being free, a suspensionmember having an aperture theret-hrough through which the said loopportion of the rope freely passes, and a suspension strap connected withsaid suspension member.

2. A tire escape embodying a friction block, means for swinginglyanchoring said block by one end, a rope secured by one end to the otherend of the block, a plurality of apertures in the block, said rope beingthreaded through said apertures to form a loop below the block, theother end of the rope being free, a suspension member independent of thesaid block, said suspension member having an aperture therethroughthrough which the said loop portion of the rope freely passes, saidsuspension member being swingingly supported by said looped portion ofthe rope, an additional. opening in said suspension member, a suspensionstrap, and means connected with the end of said strap and engaging inthe said additional openin in the said suspension member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, onthis Q'Tth day of September, A. D. 1927.

ANTON E. JOl'lNl-llfihl.

